Holiday Vibes in Tuscany: Nicole & Richard

Destination weddings almost always have smaller guest lists than parties at home, but the couple in today’s real wedding must have been particularly persuasive, because they managed to secure a crowd of 150 people! It probably had a little something to do with the location - Nicole and Richard exchanged vows on a gloriously sunny day in Volterra, Tuscany, before partying the night away in the astoundingly picturesque Villa Di Ulignano! They brought photographer Marc Lawson with them from Northern Ireland to capture every last detail, including the chicest all-white bridal party we think we've ever seen! If you're considering a wedding in Tuscany, this post might just seal the deal...

Nicole and Richard are from the same town in Northern Ireland, and even crossed paths as children! Richard's parents owned a hotel in town where Nicole would go for dinner with her parents. “Apparently as I sat there enjoying my blended dinner in my high chair, Richard would pull faces at me from the kitchen and, on one occasion, tried to knock me over with a football...charming!”

Nicole says she got her revenge years later, when a teenage Richard was working as a barista in the local coffee shop. “I would go there after school with my mum and sister and make overly complicated coffee orders - ‘One shot, skinny milk, extra foam, extra hot...’ He learned to hide when he saw us arriving in future!”

The pair finally made up in their early 20s, when they each returned home after a stint abroad. “We met at a friend's party,” Nicole says. “Richard intended to return to America at the end of the summer but decided to stay, and the rest is history!”

When it came time to propose, Richard chose one of their favourite places - Laguna Beach, California. “My first reaction was to take my shoes off and run as fast as I could down the beach,” Nicole says. “It was not the reaction he had hoped for! After a few minutes I composed myself, I ran back and of course, I said yes!”

Can we just take a minute to discuss Nicole's exceptionally stylish bridal party? Her all-white palette looks amazing in the Italian sun!

We could not be more in awe of the Palazzo Dei Priori! Why can't every ceremony space have 13th Century frescoes?

Nicole and Richard say their top priority was creating a wedding that felt like a luxurious getaway. “We wanted our wedding to have that holiday vibe,” Nicole says. “We wanted everyone to be relaxed. Tuscany is the most magical, relaxing place on earth so we knew that the minute everyone arrived, the beautiful scenery, the charming people, the weather and the fabulous food would all set the tone.”

She’s not kidding about the relaxation part! “A couple of hours before the ceremony, I was lying by the pool reading a magazine - that says it all really.”

We love that the couple used both the busy town of Volterra and the peaceful Italian countryside as backdrops for their wedding portraits, yielding completely different but equally beautiful results!

Nicole’s advice to engaged couples is to minimise stress wherever you can. “It's a celebration, so celebrate and enjoy every second.”

Nicole and Richard chose the beautiful Villa Di Ulignano in Volterra as their reception venue, and, I mean, can you blame them!? “We completely fell in love with the villa the minute we saw it. The drive up to the villa is pretty hairy - twenty minutes of an ascending, winding dirt track - but when you reach the top, the view is so breathtakingly beautiful, you forget the roller coaster of fear that you just experienced!”

The couple made multiple trips to Volterra in the run up to the wedding and even found a few wedding suppliers there by chance! “Sara and Sergio from Trucs A Faire were busking in Volterra one night when we were having dinner - he has the most incredible voice and she pays the violin and cello so beautifully. Through our broken Italian we managed to ask them to play at our wedding ceremony! Hearing them play as I was walking down the aisle just made the whole experience so special and personal.”

Among the couple’s favourite things about the villa were, “the beautiful pool, framed by the most amazing landscape we've ever seen, the glamorous chandelier-lit ballroom, the individually-themed bedrooms and the full-sized, underground cinema.” All right, we’re officially jealous.

Dining in the villa's courtyard looks like so much fun! After the wedding, Nicole and Richard travelled around Lake Como, Lake Garda and Venice on a mini-moon. For their honeymoon, they chose California and Mexico. “We really milked it and regret nothing!” Nicole says.

Yep, those are family photos being projected onto the walls! “At the back of the villa is the most beautiful old tree, which we lit up with fairy lights and this is where we cut our wedding cake," Nicole says. "We projected a slideshow of pictures of us through the years on to the villa during the cake cutting, and it was just magical!” Isn’t this just the sweetest idea?!

Now, if that doesn't make you long for a bit of summer sun, we don't know what will! Thanks so much to Marc Lawson for sharing these beautiful photographs, and to Nicole and Richard for filling us in on their big day!